Harikrishna ranked 31st in world ratings

World Junior Chess champion P Harikrishna has become only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to achieve a world ranking of 31.

Written by NDTVSports

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Hyderabad:

World Junior Chess champion P Harikrishna has become only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to achieve a world ranking of 31.
The 19-year-old from Guntur, who was ranked 59 in July, has jumped 28 places to break into the top 50.
"When your rating is high, you feel confident and the rating is a sign of your standard," Harikrishna said.
Challenges ahead
The new ranking comes as a rebirth for Harikrishna.
In February, he had confessed to NDTV that he was contemplating quitting the game because of lack of a sponsor.
The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) had then responded to the NDTV story, and promised to take care of the player's entire expenditure for a year.
But now, Harikrishna says the path ahead is tougher.
"It is difficult to stay there and even more difficult to go further. When opponents know you are a strong player and you have an ELO rating of 2673, many players try to draw with you because they get points," he said.
Harikrishna will skip the Asian Chess Championship starting in Hyderabad on Wednesday, as he has already qualified for the World Cup in Russia in December.
He is now aiming for an ELO rating of 2700 by the end of the year, which would earn him a place in the top 20.